Play-asia's getting into the SHMUP business (Soldner-X)

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RyanDG
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Play-asia's getting into the SHMUP business (Soldner-X)

Post by RyanDG »

http://www.play-asia.com/download/conte ... ent_01.pdf

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-17-71-2-74-1e5-49-en.html

For Immediate Release
Hong Kong - May 11, 2007 - Leading online retailer Play-Asia.com has initiated a video game developed by the ambitious new team SideQuest Studios, thus entering the development business with a first project, published and distributed by eastasiasoft, entitled "Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer". This is to be the first step in reaching the publisher's goal to recreate seemingly 'lost' game genres and consequently bring back true arcade action and fun to the home.

Set in the distant future, the game is a fast and furious shoot 'em up with state-of-the-art graphics, driving soundtrack and classic fun gameplay sprinkled with fresh innovations. In the storyline, planet Earth's resistance aims to stop a deadly infection consuming both life forms and technology alike, oddly having to rely on an anti-hero mercenary and bounty hunter to pilot a mighty prototype star fighter. His goal: To fight his way to the virus' origin, save civilisation and earn cash to boot!

Game features shall include:

12 stages of beautiful parallax graphics and animations, staged across 4 fantastic world/space settings
classic design, yet state-of-the-art shooter technology
unique upgrade weapon system and never before seen tactical elements such as chaining, effectiveness system, 'berserker' mode and much more
plenty of hidden bonus features and more than 20 extras (with both positive and negative effects!)
addictive collection quests and over-the-top boss fights
supports 720p HD mode in 16:9 and features a superb soundtrack
The game is scheduled for release late 2007. More information, such as platform and gameplay details, will be revealed soon.
About Play-Asia.com, SideQuest Studios & eastasiasoft:

Play-Asia.com located in Hong-Kong, was established in 2002 and is leading online retailer for computer & video games and related toys, soundtracks and rare sought-after items. The company offers one of the world's biggest selections in classic games, as well as DVDs, CDs & electronic gadgets.

SideQuest Studios is a video games developer comprising of industry veterans and talented programmers, artists and musicians. "Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer" is the premiere game by the development studio, who are destined to rock the boat with their first title.

eastasiasoft (eastasiasoft.com) is a distributor specialising in computer and video games.

Contact eastasiasoft press relation:
press (at) eastasiasoft.com




Anybody else getting a distinct Einhander feel from this? Also w/ 16:9 wide screen support, it seems to imply that its a hori...
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Ganelon
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Post by Ganelon »

I get the feeling they saw the money in Last Hope and decided to replicate it.
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nem
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Post by nem »

I get that feeling as well.

Did the press release even mention a platform?
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Post by CIT »

What if this is just the Western title for Broken Thunder? :lol:
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Kron
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Post by Kron »

720p and 16:9 makes you think its a Live Arcade or PSN game.
RyanDG
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Post by RyanDG »

nem wrote:I get that feeling as well.

Did the press release even mention a platform?
It doesn't mention a platform (it states that info will be coming soon), but it has to be a on a platform that supports 16:9 widescreen, which would imply either PC or a current console.
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Re: Play-asia's getting into the SHMUP business (Soldier-X)

Post by Ghegs »

RyanDG wrote:12 stages of beautiful parallax graphics and animations, staged across 4 fantastic world/space settings
classic design, yet state-of-the-art shooter technology
unique upgrade weapon system and never before seen tactical elements such as chaining, effectiveness system, 'berserker' mode and much more
plenty of hidden bonus features and more than 20 extras (with both positive and negative effects!)
addictive collection quests and over-the-top boss fights
supports 720p HD mode in 16:9 and features a superb soundtrack
This sounds like the basic feature list of a euroshmup.

That's weird, the announcement seems to have been placed into the PSone section of their site. Or at least that's what I see highlighted on the top of the page.
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Post by P_HAT »

i think it be stupid shareware game :?
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Re: Play-asia's getting into the SHMUP business (Soldier-X)

Post by sven666 »

RyanDG wrote:
... and never before seen tactical elements such as chaining...
OH MY GOD!! what will they think of next!?!?! :shock:

720P sounds like a ps3 game to me..
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Post by Kiken »

So what they're trying to say is that this is basically X3...?
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Post by Frederik »

Uh, a german shmup with an actual GERMAN NAME? How edgy of my fellow countrymen. Finally someone got the trend of german words in Japan, like Einhänder or Edelweiss.

However, this promo pic seems pretty rubbish - what kind of ship design is this? And yeah, the description doesn´t make me very enthusiastic either.
This is to be the first step in reaching the publisher's goal to recreate seemingly 'lost' game genres and consequently bring back true arcade action and fun to the home.
Man, that sounds just SO cheesy. As if we all waited for some unknown new team to "revive" our "lost" genre for us all. And if Sven is right and it is going to come out on the PS3, that must be one of the worsts platforms to recreate a lost genre on.
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Post by UnscathedFlyingObject »

My mediocre game sense is tingling...
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Post by GaijinPunch »

$10 bucks says it absolutely sucks balls.
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Post by landshark »

What's everyone knocking this for? Welcome it until it comes out. If it sucks then, bash it. But don't discourage the development.
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Post by EOJ »

GaijinPunch wrote:$10 bucks says it absolutely sucks balls.
Yep, this game has garbage written all over it.
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Post by Pixel_Outlaw »

The ship looks like a space garbage barge. Or something from Halo.
That said I won't say the game is terrible untill I have played it. 8)
Some of the best shmups don't actually end in a vowel.
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Post by Gungriffon Geona »

I dunno, I gotta hand it to them for the ship design. it's actually quite nice.
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Post by neorichieb1971 »

I think its about time shmups went hi-def and 16:9. Takes away the need to have old CRT's and RGB etc.

I'd give them credit for implementing it this way.

We know its its a hori for fact.
This industry has become 2 dimensional as it transcended into a 3D world.
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Post by Nuke »

Name implies they are Einhänder fans, and if it'll be half as good, it's worth the price.
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Post by icepick »

CIT wrote:What if this is just the Western title for Broken Thunder? :lol:
You so beat me to that. I was going to be all "Broken Thunder Rebrand!" :wink:

I hope that "berserker mode" isn't a fancy name for a bomb, but I wouldn't complain. 12 stages sounds like twice as many as usual, but of course it's quality over quantity. Extras with negative effects, is that so? Hopefully they mean it in the subjective way, as in one person's lima beans is another person's Jell-O.

Could this be an XBL/VC-type release? In any case, it does sound pretty interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on it, and of course, I hope that it's a keeper.

Maybe next, McDonald's will decide to make a shooting game too? Or Belkin? (In all seriousness, I say "the more the merrier.")

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Post by GaijinPunch »

landshark wrote:What's everyone knocking this for? .
It is not impossible, but the only company to jump into the genre seemingly late and make a quality product on their first try is Treasure.
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Post by CIT »

GaijinPunch wrote:It is not impossible, but the only company to jump into the genre seemingly late and make a quality product on their first try is Treasure.
Squaresoft and Alpha System also come to mind.*

But the important thing is that those are all Japanese companies.

Somehow Euroshmup developers have yet to move beyond R-Type and/or Amiga games as their major source of inspiration.



EDIT:

*Actually, I just remembered Alpha System made Psychic Storm for PCE, way back in the day - and that game blew hard. So I guess only Squaresoft counts.
Last edited by CIT on Mon May 14, 2007 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Frederik »

Nuke wrote:Name implies they are Einhänder fans
Not necessarily, it simply is a german title, too, but the words themselves don´t imply any relation to Einhänder (like Zweihänder - that was some Doujin game IIRC). Though I get the feeling they intentionally picked words with umlaut letters in them. It roughly means "Mercenary X: Sky Striker". Sounds a lot more cheesier this way, right?
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Post by CIT »

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Post by Necronom »

Yep, this game has garbage written all over it.
Gotta love the positive attitude here. If I would be a small developer I would stay away from shmups and invest my resources into a puzzle game or a jump and run. I mean why should somebody invest time and money into a project if the superuberhardcore already know that it's shit?!
My guess is that they'll try to pull off something similar to Starmonkey or Steel Saviour, probably with a slightly bigger budget and some serious eye candy. What's so bad about it? It's not like they're trying to take away shelfspace from the next Cave port or something...
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Post by glitch »

Necronom wrote:Gotta love the positive attitude here. If I would be a small developer I would stay away from shmups and invest my resources into a puzzle game or a jump and run. I mean why should somebody invest time and money into a project if the superuberhardcore already know that it's shit?!
My guess is that they'll try to pull off something similar to Starmonkey or Steel Saviour, probably with a slightly bigger budget and some serious eye candy. What's so bad about it? It's not like they're trying to take away shelfspace from the next Cave port or something...
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sure, chances of this being AMAZING are pretty slim, but a new company having a try at making a shmup is good news right? or is it because they aren't japanese? i'm plenty curious to see what they come up with.
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Post by sfried »

CIT wrote:Somehow Euroshmup developers have yet to move beyond R-Type and/or Amiga games as their major source of inspiration.
Don't they rip off Gradius V, nowdays?
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Post by pixelcorps »

GaijinPunch wrote:$10 bucks says it absolutely sucks balls.
sometimes you gotta go with those gut feelings, and my gut agrees with yours :)
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Post by Turrican »

CIT wrote:What if this is just the Western title for Broken Thunder? :lol:
That would be already a lot better than BT, I guess... You see, it's perfectly fine to produce garbage as long as you don't tie it to one of the most respected series ever. :)
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Post by Shatterhand »

CIT wrote:
GaijinPunch wrote:It is not impossible, but the only company to jump into the genre seemingly late and make a quality product on their first try is Treasure.
Squaresoft and Alpha System also come to mind.*

*Actually, I just remembered Alpha System made Psychic Storm for PCE, way back in the day - and that game blew hard. So I guess only Squaresoft counts.
Squaresoft did King's Knight for both the MSX and NES systems. Even though you are walking in solid ground, the game is a shmup.

They also made the NES version of Thexder, which is a borderline :) . I wouldn't be surprised to find out some obscure shmup made by Square from the 80s. Has anyone seen the Aliens game made by them? :)
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